I won’t take it.
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION- I was in the south of Mexico with my wife and two-year-old daughter. I made a living off of a blog. We’d stay in towns for a month … two months … three months and then carry on to the next stop. We’d cycle through places in accordance with the seasons, living about as close as you can get to modern nomadism. I’d drink a big bottle of Corona with salt and lime each day when I finished work. We’d eat street tacos for dinner. We were poor. I was a nobody. We were happy.
This was in early 2012.
Then one day while walking in the hills around San Cristobal it occurred to me that I should go back to China and do something with myself. I had a head start on the country from the years that I spent there as a backpacker and a student … and even more than that was the fact that I knew that few people knew anything about the place outside the palisades of Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. There was a huge demand for information about broader China and a dearth of supply. I knew that there was a place for me there.
So I told my wife what I wanted to do … This was a big ask, as life could not have been more idea in Mexico. For some reason she agreed. (Admittedly, I told her the food was good in China and a bunch of other lies). She took the bait, got a job at a Montessori school in the middle of the Yangtze River development corridor, we tossed our flip flops into the trash … and I became Wade Shepard, China guy.
Today, as I sit here a little south of the border, that world seems so, so far away.
***
If you can’t go one way, you go another. If one road closes, you try another way around. If a country comes up with asinine immigration policies, you go elsewhere. If your personal little Shangrila gets tourist-ified, you just don’t go back. If one place becomes tiresome, you get up and leave. If you don’t like your girlfriend, you get a new one. You don’t accept defeat, but you don’t fight either — you simply change direction and carry on …
This is the creed of the traveler.
I sit here today and smile, as I know that I’m extremely fortunate. The first era of my travels — two entire decades from 1999 to 2020 — was during a time when the world was more open than it’s ever been before; when travel was never easier, safer, or, presumably, more enjoyable. I smile because I know I took full advantage of this blip in history. I took full advantage to the extreme. I went where I wanted and did what I wanted. It’s so rare in time when so many people were able to do this. I cashed in my chips as soon as I got them — I consumed my time rather than investing it in a future that is never guaranteed to materialize. People acted as though I was making a grave gamble, but I knew I was placing the safer bet.
In the beginning, I took this ease of travel as something ordinary, and like all things we feel entitled to, I didn’t think much of it. But at some point during my Silk Road travels (2015 – 2019) I began getting the feeling that this pax Gaia probably wouldn’t last for much longer — the world joins together just to break apart. I saw the fault lines in the system, certain entities were becoming too powerful, and a colossal rupture seemed inevitable. I had a lingering premonition that what I was accustomed to experiencing wasn’t going to last, and I did exactly what I should have: I relished every last minute of it. I pushed the limits, got the stories, and wondered how long I could keep it going … and then it ended.
***
In the summer of 2019 we moved to New York City, and this was one of the best decisions that I’ve made yet on this journey — but not for the reasons that I originally thought. I endeavored to use the city as a base of operations to access the world — I had already moved out of China and my area of focus was becoming more global, and NYC is the center of the world. My plan served me well for the few months — I was zipping all around the world — and then the “pandemic” hit.
I didn’t make much of it at first. I thought that all it would take was for the world to know the true death and hospitalization rates and we’d all come to our senses. I figured we’d be like, “So, most people have a 99.99% chance of survival and only 1% – 5% go to the hospital, and we’re locking down why?”
That didn’t happen.
Then when it came out that the report that convinced the US and UK to lockdown was severely flawed and thoroughly incorrect — dubbed one of the most influential and most wrong scientific publications in history — the dominant narrative still didn’t change.
Or a little later on when a parade of studies came out that showed that lockdowns, social distancing, disinfecting everything, and mask mandates were the stuff of pseudoscience — that bars, restaurants, and gyms were not prime vectors of infection — I imagined that we’d all read the data, revoke our compliance, and force our governments to give up their authoritarian shticks. But instead we just started wearing two masks instead of one.
There comes a point when you realize that this isn’t about a virus — at least not one of the pathological variety anyway.
The world is now being saved by the one thing that will set us free — the thing that will make the world’s most powerful corporations billions, the only thing that will allow us to get our lives back.
But I won’t take it.
There’s more and more data streaming in every day that validates why I won’t take it. Some of it is logged in government databases, some of it is first hand accounts of personal experience. Almost all of these inconvenient truths are subject to being ignored by the mainstream media, who knows what hand they feed from, or quickly scrubbed from view by tech monopolies who don’t want you reading them. Victims have no legal recourse — the manufacturers are immune from litigation. Accountability is nowhere to be found. Oftentimes, even acknowledgement is hard to come by … It must of been a coincidence that a healthy 18 year old suddenly …
But even more than that, why should I? Why should I take an unlicensed, uber-experimental substance with a dubious track record to lessen the symptoms of an illness that I have next to a zero percent chance of having severe symptoms from in the first place?
So you don’t spread it to others?
The likelihood of that happening is “very rare” and the substances in question don’t necessarily prevent that anyway.
Because everyone else is doing it?
No thanks.
Because they will let you have your life back?
***
I won’t take it, my kids won’t take it, and I will live with the consequences of this decision. Yes, I understand that many countries will probably prohibit the free movement of people who don’t take it. Yes, I understand that my way of life will be significantly altered — my livelihood will be stomped out. Yes, I understand that I will become a second class citizen, a persona non-grata, an enemy of the obedient.
No, the government won’t mandated it — at least not in the USA. They will rely on the entities that give our lives pleasure to do their dirty work for them. They’ve already turned bars and restaurants into enforcement arms of the state, and it’s a small step for them to require a scan of an app for entry, which most will do with gusto out of fear of being arbitrarily shut down again.
No more football games, no more stopping in at the bar, no more dining in at restaurants, hassles, harassment, and perhaps … no more travel. They will wield the carrot and the stick until we all comply and then tell us that it was our own choice all along.
But to give up your biological autonomy — the most fundamental and inherent liberty you have — is to give up everything.
The State seized something that wasn’t theirs — your property, your livelihoods, your children’s future, your freedom of expression / assembly / religion, your medical autonomy — and is now acting as though they are providing a benevolent service as they incrementally give what is rightfully yours back in exchange for your continued compliance. But if freedom can be given it’s not really freedom then, is it?
About the Author: VBJ
I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. VBJ has written 3700 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.
VBJ is currently in: New York City
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April 29, 2021, 4:30 pm
We were poor. I was a nobody. We were happy.”
This speaks volumes…..
As long as your “needs” are met, there is NO reason not to be happy. It’s ALL the “wants” that F people up…….
Live your life knowing “less is more” and BE happy……. -
April 30, 2021, 2:37 am
Awesome article.
I admit, I got the v___. I’m a bit older, and felt the risk management calculation favored getting the v___ for me.
As the smallpox v___ scar on my arm shows, I am of the generation that was taught that vaccines are good. Hard habit to break.
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April 30, 2021, 8:19 am
I have been saying everything that you just wrote about for the last year and a half. I’m not sure that I’ll go as far as talking about tinfoil hats but there may be unintended consequences in the future from these unproven v___. I am old 70 years and fat and have no intentions Of getting shot. I guess I might get shot if I try to use my unredeemed cruise ticket from Rome to Galveston Texas using a less than legal shot documentation.
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April 30, 2021, 11:10 am
Ah, hand wringing time. So much to agree with, so much to disagree with, so much to call bullshit, so much to say amen about. Nevertheless, plenty to make you think about.
I recognize that your 99.9% is hyperbole so I won’t touch that. I’ve been saying for more than a year that death rates of even 99.9% wouldn’t justify taking away our personal liberty so I think that debate is unimportant. I’ll just say that the numbers don’t matter. People either want to control people or they don’t. Unfortunately, the numbers who don’t are small. The Tucker Carlson’s of the world may be against masks and lockdowns, but they want to control people as much as the Fauci’s of the world. When an asshole tells people to call CPS if they see kids wearing masks, anyone supporting that is anti-freedom. You don’t sick the government on anyone for the choices they make. When I saw that clip, I once again said there is no difference between Republicans or Democrats, just how they hang their curtains and or maybe the color of them.
The most important thing we can learn in this world is to “Respect the rights of others.” That is what we have lost in this pandemic. But guess what? It was lost a long time ago. I saw it gone in the 1990’s and it was probably gone earlier. Everyone wants their own rights protected and maybe they care about the rights of people who hold similar views to them, but f*ck those who think differently…they don’t deserve rights. For me, that is a** backwards. Protect your rights when they are genuinely attacked, but first and foremost, respect the rights of others.
Someone wants to take a vaccine? Respect that right. Someone doesn’t? Respect that right. Someone wants to require masks in their property? Respect that right. Use your freedom of choice to choose what you do.
Like in most other things, people are f*cking stupid. I bought my masks in January 2020 when Fauci was saying that the CCP Virus was nothing and said that masks were worthless because this virus wasn’t airborne. Yeah right, we all know how that turned out. It’s the same as it’s been since February 2020. The virus gets in the air and then lands on objects.
And let’s talk about masks. I think we need to get this out in the open. They are like a booster. They reduce the chances of getting infected by probably 10 to 20%. They also reduce the initial viral load. I think that’s a given. Will they prevent you from getting sick? Maybe but if you are in an enclosed place with someone sick, you will get sick.
But me? I like wearing my mask. I bought some nice Columbia masks. They are nice and soft and with the Columbia tag, they scream “Enlightened Liberal.” Bonus: my body has the scars of the travel. I’m missing a tooth up front and another one that is chipped. I’m too lazy and cheap to go to a dentist(need to go to one when I am back in Mexico) and I’m self conscious. No worries, because my mask covers it. Bigger Bonus: It covers my facial expressions. Now with my bad eyesight, people think I’m giving them bad looks. It keeps people away from me. I don’t have to deal with people around me. I don’t have to interact with people. I can tell people to get out of my space and get off my damn lawn.
In case you are wondering if I’m laughing when writing this, yes I am.
Now back to your headline. I don’t think it’s over. I see that there are plenty of places to travel to around the world, but I do think you need to have a base outside the US. The US is probably not the best country to come in and out of because of all the requirements, but flying from another country still means that a lot of world is still open. Check out Bald and Bankrupt and the place he is traveling to. He came down with Covid last summer in the Balkans and was hospitalized with it. He is still out there traveling and making videos. I think things have changed and we have to do things differently, but we still can.
I got the J&J jab before it was paused. I have no issue with having it and after I did my personal research about it, I felt it was the best choice for me. I still do. I had to travel to another state to get it and I’m glad I did.
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April 30, 2021, 2:13 pm
“The world outside is burning with a brand new light
But it isn’t one that makes me feel warm
Don’t go mistaking your house burning down for the dawn” Song 1933 by frank turner rings true to me for a lot the last few years -
April 30, 2021, 2:42 pm
MT just passed a prohibition on vaccine passports https://www.krtv.com/news/governor-prohibits-vaccine-passports-in-montana
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May 1, 2021, 7:55 am
As Jack said, there’s a LOT to discuss now. The pandemic accelerated a host of issues.
A few years ago, I finally started to research digital privacy, reading a stack of books and going online to see what I could learn. What I learned scared the shit out out me–and made me really angry. Big Tech was selling our private communication, ideas, and relationships for piles of money and hiding their actions in fine print. What did I do?
I requested the closure and deletion of all online accounts. Now no Google, no Facebook, no Flickr. From 2004 to 2009, I had run a very successful Blogspot (Google) weblog (blogrolled at the New York Times and the Washington Post), but after transferring all the files to my computer, I did not hesitate to delete the thousands of pages from that site. You need to rip your information from their clutching fingers.
Years ago, I had only tried Facebook for a few weeks and didn’t like it. When I asked for the account to be deleted, they made me wait a month. What can you say? That’s the kind of assholes you find there.
Back in the 2000s, using Flickr, I had uploaded lots of scanned photos that I later linked to for friends to check out. It was a good platform. Later it was sold to Yahoo and a few other companies. In my research, I discovered how dangerous all those photos were (watch video link below). Deletion was the right move.
I never had Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok accounts, so there was nothing to do there.
Next, I started removing all of my personal information on people-search sites and from data brokers. This took more than a month. You need to contact each individual site and request an “opt out” or “do not sell my information.”
Today, digital privacy is one of my main concerns. This is one of those turning points in history. Will people give up all of their privacy? Will Big Tech and Big Government fuse to control individuals, turning citizens into subjects and data points?
Jack makes a good point about the upside of masks. Anything that has an anonymizing function needs to be explored.
Okay, here’s the link to a Vox piece on facial recognition.
What facial recognition steals from us.
If any of you know of other ways for us to restore privacy and real individuality, let me know.
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March 15, 2022, 2:18 am
Sad to see this. I was browsing through your blog after finding some of your pics from Taiwan. Ironic that you’ve visited Taiwan and yet participate in antivaxxer nonsense.
I’m sure you’ll delete this comment, but lemme just raise your ire by posting some facts that challenge your petulant narrative. I’m sorry you couldn’t travel, boohoo, maybe you can whine to one of the families of the 900,000 Americans that died, I bet you could rouse some sympathy there.
“So, most people have a 99.99% chance of survival”
I see conservatives do this sometimes to numbers, and I would be flummoxed if I didn’t now understand that the point is to be wrong on purpose because science is dumb and fruity or whatever. “It’s just 50 cents, what’s a buck, you really going to get your panties in a bunch over 5 bucks? Just hand over the 10 bucks and we’ll call it done.” Why do yall do this?
IFR, infection fatality rate, varies wildly, but only among very young children is it anywhere near .01% death rate if infected and unvaccinated. Among young people, some studies show a .1% death rate, others more like .2%. Among older populations, the death rate skyrockets to as high as 20%.
First off, it’s sociopathic to wave away 30,000 potential deaths (.01% of the USA population). But also, to pretend like there’s no big difference between your fake death rate of .01% and the more more accurate .1% to .2% is ignorant. What’s the difference between .01% and .1%? .01% of the USA population I said above, 30,000. .1% of the USA population is 300,000. That’s ten times more. That’s 270,000 more deaths. And that’s just if I pretend the death rate is only .1%. Actually, you had 79,000,000 cases and 968,000 deaths, which brings the USA to an actual IFR for confirmed infections to 1.23%… or ten times greater than .1%. You are literally two orders of magnitude incorrect in your sociopathic assumption that “only .01% of people die.”
“only 1% – 5% go to the hospital”
At the peak of the unvaccinated pandemic in January, 2021 in the USA,you were looking at 100,000 hospitalizations in a day with 300,000 infections. You gonna make me do the math here, or do you understand that that is more, once again by an order of magnitude, than 1%?
Incredibly, when the rest of the world was getting vaccinated, the USA decided to peak again in January of this year, topping hospitalizations, infections, and deaths. I want to say I don’t understand why, but I do: conservative death cults sacrificing American lives to the gods of profit and culture war. Congratulations, you are a front line warrior in their efforts, and like the Russians facing stone-faced Ukranians, you find yourself on the wrong side of a bright line.
“Or a little later on when a parade of studies came out that showed that lockdowns, social distancing, disinfecting everything, and mask mandates were the stuff of pseudoscience”
And yet Taiwan, a country you visited, has achieved covid 0 multiple times through nothing more than mask mandates, social distancing, and quite mild “lockdowns” (bars and clubs closed, indoor dining closed, that’s it). We sacrificed I guess our freedom to… not wear a mask in public? To save thousands of lives. Cry me a river, you who participated in the killing of 900,000 Americans.
No wonder mask mandates didn’t work in the USA – you never actually had them. Social distancing, lockdowns? Please, this was the year of political rallies and endless covid-denialist parties. Businesses refusing to allow remote work. The farce of the “essential worker.” You never had lockdowns in the USA, stop pretending you did.
“There’s more and more data streaming in every day that validates why I won’t take it. ”
It’s starting to get unhinged around here but I take it to mean you’re antivax. I know this means you’re anti-science, anti-math, anti-statistics, so lemme just ignore you a second and speak to the people who might happen to stumble across your blog in the brief moments before you delete a comment that doesn’t toe your narrative:
The COVID-19 vaccines, all varieties, save lives. Millions of them.
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/news-events/who-ecdc-nearly-half-million-lives-saved-covid-19-vaccination
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2787929
https://www.vox.com/22894978/covid-19-vaccine-lives-saved-deaths-avoided-omicron-chartThe COVID-19 vaccines, all varieties, were extensively tested.
https://covid19.trackvaccines.org/trials-vaccine-testing/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/distributing/steps-ensure-safety.htmlAnd before you just go thinking about covid death rates alone, don’t forget about long covid:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/long-term-effects-of-coronavirus-long-covid/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.htmlI personally have friends that still can’t taste after a 2020 infection.
” my kids won’t take it,”
Your kids won’t be attending school then, it seems? So not only are you willing to sacrifice your own health for your virtue signaling, you’re willing to sacrifice the health of your children, and their educational future. What a great dad. Maybe you can homeschool them, after all, you’re a well educated guy, right? With your excellent understanding of how multiplication works.
“Yes, I understand that I will become a second class citizen, a persona non-grata, an enemy of the obedient.”
Your bpm spiked to 190 when you typed this, didn’t it?
“hey’ve already turned bars and restaurants into enforcement arms of the stat”
Actually, no, because many businesses are finding out that juiced up antivax dudes like you are berating and sometimes beating the shit out of their employees for daring to ask customers for proof of vaccine or put on a mask or whatever, so many businesses are not enforcing these rules. Obviously the cops won’t either, they’re usually on your side. Congratulations, you used violence and won.
“No more football games, no more stopping in at the bar, no more dining in at restaurants”
…yeah no, we have all these things over here, and no covid. You could have had both, instead you threw tantrums.
“But to give up your biological autonomy”
My brother in christ i know for a fact you oppose abortion rights lmao
“The State seized something that wasn’t theirs — your property, your livelihoods, your children’s future, your freedom of expression / assembly / religion, your medical autonomy”
did baby get a little taste of what america was already like for anybody that wasn’t white? There’s only one person snatching away your children’s future here and it aint the state
“and is now acting as though they are providing a benevolent service as they incrementally give what is rightfully yours back in exchange for your continued compliance. ”
No, America is trying to convince you to put your seatbelt on, so nobody has to clean your guts off the highway anymore. Would that your ignorance couldn’t harm anybody else, but unfortunately that’s not our reality.
Your comment section is a hoot. A lot of alleged libertarians crying about the loss of personal liberties, yet I never see these people protesting against the stripping away of women’s bodily autonomy (Texas just fully banned abortions, many other states following), I never see these people protesting the stripping of voting rights for minorities (quite the opposite – they tend to use violence to try to overturn elections), I never seen these people standing up for transgender people’s rights to just live, standing alongside their black bothers in Black Lives Matter protests against police violence, standing against the state legislatures banning books and defining curriculums from the pulpit. A whole lot of virtue signaling cowards.
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